Main points
- Oleksandr Klymenko, a priest of the UOC and winner of “Voice of the Country”, continues to serve in a church that is part of the ROC, despite the Russian invasion.
- Klymenko explains his controversial statement about the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred by claiming that it was a reaction to an irresponsible statement by a politician.
Oleksandr Klymenko / Collage of Channel 24
Oleksandr Klymenko is a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who participated in season 7 of the talent show “Voice of the Country.” He made it to Tina Karol's team and became the winner of the project.
- 1 Who is Oleksandr Klymenko?
- 2 Participation in season 7 of “The Voice of Ukraine”
- 3 Personal life
- 4 Where is Oleksandr Klymenko now and what scandal is connected with him?
Even after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Klymenko continues to serve in the church, which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Where is the priest now, Channel 24 will tell.
Who is Oleksandr Klymenko?
Oleksandr Klymenko was born in the city of Berezan, Kyiv region. He studied at the Kyiv Theological Seminary. On August 12, 2007, in the Holy Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Volodymyr ordained him to the rank of deacon, and four years later, to the rank of priest.
I do not regret having entered this special world. And these 18 years after my ordination have not passed like a day. I have much to remember and much to bow down to God for. I always remember His Beatitude Volodymyr with gratitude in my prayers,
– Klymenko shared on Instagram.
Oleksandr Klymenko / Photo from the priest's Instagram
Participation in season 7 of “The Voice of the Country”
In 2007, the 7th season of the talent show “Voice of the Country” was aired on the “1+1” TV channel, in which Oleksandr Klymenko also took part. During the blind auditions, he performed the song “Maternal Love” by Mykola Mozgovy.
The priest managed to turn over all four coaching chairs: then the judges were Jamala, Potap, Sergey Babkin, and Tina Karol, whom he chose as his mentor.
Oleksandr Klymenko – “Mother's Love”: watch the video online
Personal life
The winner of “Voice of the Country 7” is married and has five children. His wife's name is Svitlana. Recently, Klymenko shared photos with his family on Instagram.
4 years ago we thought that four children would be the final stage of completing our family. It turned out that it wasn't. We have to wait until Stefka gets on her feet and go with her to the VDNH ice rink, add her photos to the album,
– the priest wrote under the photo.
Oleksandr Klymenko with children / Photo from the priest's Instagram
Oleksandr Klymenko with his family / Photo from the priest's Instagram
Where is Oleksandr Klymenko now and what scandal is connected with him?
Oleksandr Klymenko is currently in Ukraine, probably living in his hometown of Berezan. The priest continues to celebrate holidays in the old style. For example, on January 7, he congratulated Ukrainians on Christmas.
In 2017, a scandal erupted around Oleksandr. A post by the priest from 2014 surfaced online, in which he allegedly called the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred “crazy.” Later, in an interview with TSN, Klymenko provided clarification.
According to the man, the text was written two weeks before the mass shootings on Independence Square. He added that at that time the term “Hero of the Heavenly Hundred” was not yet in the everyday language of Ukrainians.
The text was a reaction to a speech by one of the politicians, who said, in my opinion, a terrible and irresponsible pseudo-heroic phrase: “A bullet in the forehead is a bullet in the forehead.” This is pseudo-heroic, when a person is not going to put his forehead on the line, but with this phrase he warms the blood of those people who believe in this or that idea. And I was very outraged how one can be so irresponsible as to throw people to self-sacrifice,
– explained Alexander.
For reference! The phrase “A bullet in the forehead is a bullet in the forehead” was said by Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The post for which Oleksandr Klymenko was criticized / Screenshot from the Glavkom website
The priest also claims that he participated in concerts that raised funds for ATO soldiers, consecrated cars for humanitarian purposes, and held funerals for fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
Crimea, Donbas are very painful topics for me,
– he added.
According to Klymenko, his parish supported the Ukrainian defenders when the war began: they provided medicines, warm clothes, food, prayer books, icons, crosses, etc.
“As for the church I serve in, I have been in it since childhood. I left at the age of 7 and then became a priest in this church. I felt faith in this church. I do not see my service in the church as propaganda of things prohibited in our country. Christianity is close to me precisely because it is quite free. There are no gurus here, there is no submission to anything and everyone. There is free communication with God,” explained Oleksandr.